Trailer detached from truck critically injures Richlands woman

A Richlands woman is in critical condition after a trailer that detached from the truck pulling it hit her vehicle head on.

AMANDA WILCOX - Daily News Staff

Updated at 3:59 p.m. to update Whitehurst's condition.

A Richlands woman is in fair condition after a trailer that detached from the truck pulling it hit her vehicle head on Friday morning.

Linda Whitehurst, 35, of Richlands, was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington after her Toyota Corolla was hit on the driver’s side by the homemade trailer that became detached from a pickup truck traveling the opposite way on Cypress Creek Road at 7:19 a.m. Friday, N.C. State Highway Patrol Trooper M.T. Bryan said.

Whitehurst was listed in critical condition early Friday afternoon, but by later in the day her condition was listed as fair.

“She had some serious injuries, but I believe it’s non-life-threatening,” Bryan said.

The driver of the Dodge Ram pickup truck, Michael Miller, 22, has been charged with failure to properly secure the trailer and failure to register the trailer with the Department of Motor Vehicles, Bryan said.

“The trailer looked like it had been homemade and he didn’t have any safety chains on it,” Bryan said, adding that if safety chains would have been on the trailer, they would have stopped the trailer from becoming detached from the truck.

If Miller had tried to register the trailer, it would have been inspected by a member of the DMV who Bryan said wouldn’t have approved the trailer for road use.

“It wouldn’t have passed the inspection,” he said.

Contact Daily News Military Reporter Amanda Wilcox at 910-219-8453 or amanda.wilcox@jdnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AWilcox21.

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A Richlands woman is in critical condition after a trailer that detached from the truck pulling it hit her vehicle head on.

Linda Whitehurst, 35, of Richlands, was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington after her Toyota Corolla was hit on the driver’s side by the homemade trailer that became detached from a pickup truck traveling the opposite way on Cypress Creek Road at 7:19 a.m. Friday, N.C. State Highway Patrol Trooper M.T. Bryan said.

Whitehurst was listed in critical condition early Friday afternoon.

“She had some serious injuries but I believe it’s non-life-threatening,” Bryan said.

The driver of the Dodge Ram pickup truck, Michael Miller, has been charged with failure to properly secure the trailer and failure to register the trailer with the Department of Motor Vehicles, Bryan said.

“The trailer looked like it had been homemade and he didn’t have any safety chains on it,” Bryan said, adding that if safety chains would have been on the trailer, they would have stopped the trailer from becoming detached from the truck.

If Miller had tried to register the trailer, it would have been inspected by a member of the DMV who Bryan said wouldn’t have approved the trailer for road use.

“It wouldn’t have passed the inspection,” he said.

Contact Daily News Military Reporter Amanda Wilcox at 910-219-8453 or amanda.wilcox@jdnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AWilcox21.